Commerce: Round six preview

TOP FUEL VETERAN MCCLENATHAN BONDING WITH NEW TEAM; IS A COUNTDOWN TO
THE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER ONCE AGAIN
COMMERCE, Ga. - In the sport of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing, Cory
McClenathan has been there and done that.
He's been on fire,...

TOP FUEL VETERAN MCCLENATHAN BONDING WITH NEW TEAM; IS A COUNTDOWN TO
THE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER ONCE AGAIN

COMMERCE, Ga. - In the sport of NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing, Cory
McClenathan has been there and done that.

He's been on fire, flipped upside down and walked away from spectacular
wild rides. He's won races at just about every track on the circuit and
chased the world championship title into the sunset many times. He knows
what a good hot rod is supposed to feel like just by easing into the
throttle.

He can also tell when all the pieces are in place for a very good race
team to become great.

So that's why he's excited about the opportunity in front of him in
2009.

McClenathan has embraced a new crew on his 7,000 horsepower FRAM Tough
Guard dragster, led by co-crew chiefs Phil Shuler and Todd Okuhara, and
they are quickly hitting their stride. In just five events they have
produced two final round appearances, allowing McClenathan to display
the driving form that has led him to 30 victories in 53 final round
appearances and four second-place championship points finishes during
his 18-years behind the wheel.

"They make this FRAM car go down the track," McClenathan said. "It will
go from A to B all the time and it can run with everybody else. And
everybody realizes that."

Even with all that experience, past success and strong early season
performances McClenathan is sometimes overlooked as one of the favorites
in his category. However, hardcore fans and his opponents know that
McClenathan is always a major threat to win.

That's especially true at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern
Nationals, April 16-19 at Atlanta Dragway, where the intense and focused
driver has had much past success. Antron Brown, Ashley Force Hood, Mike
Edwards and Andrew Hines are the defending winners in their respective
categories at the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event that will
be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.

McClenathan, the top qualifier at this event one year ago, is a
three-time winner at the popular Georgia drag strip. His last win here
came in 2004. He also posted victories in 1995 and 1998.

"There's something about going to a track where you've done well that
excites you," McClenathan said. "We've had a good time there, we've
always done well there, qualified well, won a lot of races there. You
feel a lot more comfortable going to a track that you've had a lot of
success at."

After racing to runner-up finishes this year at Gainesville and Houston,
McClenathan is hungry to finish the deal and give his former Funny Car
tuners their first victory in Top Fuel. He's also looking to improve on
his fifth place points position in the NHRA Full Throttle Countdown to
the Championship.

"These guys are jelling very well," McClenathan said. "You'd never have
thought two races ago that these were all Funny Car guys working on a
Top Fuel car. They're adapting very well. They've had help from [DSR
team manager] Lee Beard, but Todd and Phil run this car. They run it the
best and the safest way they can. They make me feel very at home, very
comfortable in this race car. So, I'm excited."

And McClenathan is ready for the long haul. A second-place points
finisher four times previously, he knows what it takes to contend for a
championship. This season, he hopes to get the job done and finally put
that No. 1 on the side of his dragster. He doesn't expect one car to run
away with the title this year like Tony Schumacher has done in recent
seasons. His competitive fire burns red hot and he likes his chances.

"I think you're going to see different winners this year," McClenathan
said. "You're not going to see one team winning six, seven, eight races.
That's just not going to happen. This year you're going to see a lot
more parity in the class than we've had in the past two years.

"It will definitely make it interesting for the fans, interesting for
the race teams and it's going to come down to the best tuner/driver
relationship. The more the tuners and the drivers communicate the better
the teams will be each and every weekend. And it's going to get tougher
as we get along."

Much tougher.

Schumacher has already won back-to-back races, and Larry Dixon has
proved that his new Al-Anabi Racing team is going to be a major threat
to the title. Rookie Shawn Langdon has shown great potential in his
Dixie Chopper/Lucas Oil dragster. And, meanwhile, defending race winner
Brown has led the point standings and Brandon Bernstein has also posted
two runner-up finishes. And you can't forget about Pomona winner Doug
Kalitta and another promising rookie, Spencer Massey.

It's a crowded playing field with a heavy list of favorites that can
sometimes make a well-decorated veteran driver feel like - well, an
underdog.

A confident McClenathan thrives in that role.

"I find that kind of funny, actually," he said. "Every time we come up
they know we're a car that's to be reckoned with. They know they have to
beat us because 90 percent of the time we're going to go from A to B. I
truly believe that we're definitely the underdog here. If we weren't,
they wouldn't be forgetting about us. At the same time it's one of those
things where it's fun to kind of slide in underneath the radar and jump
up and surprise some of these guys. And that's exactly what we plan on
doing. It's funny to listen to them talk about Larry Dixon, Tony
Schumacher, Brandon's right in there with them, and Antron. It's funny
because they forget some of the other players, such as ourselves. They
certainly know that we can go out there and run the numbers."

And in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing it is all about the numbers - from
the winning elapsed times to the final point standings in the Countdown
to the Championship. McClenathan feels like his Don Schumacher-owned
team has the talent and resources to compete at the top level and
produce the numbers it takes to win races and championship titles.

"At times it's kind of fun to fly underneath the radar, but that's only
going to happen for so long, because this FRAM Tough Guard car is going
to stand up and start showing its muscle," McClenathan said. "Pointswise
they'll figure it out pretty soon if they haven't already."

In Funny Car, Force Hood will try to defend her event title with a
little more confidence as she recently claimed her second race victory
with a win in Houston in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. However, in order
to do it she'll need to hold off red-hot Ron Capps, current points
leader and winner of three races this season in his NAPA Dodge Charger.
Rookie Matt Hagan advanced to his first final in Las Vegas and is hungry
for a win. Others to watch include 14-time world champ John Force who is
a seven-time winner at Atlanta Dragway. Two-time world champ Tony
Pedregon has won this event three times.

Warren Johnson has raced to five Pro Stock victories at his home track,
his last win here coming in 2003. Greg Anderson also has proven that he
has the right combination for the Georgia track with three victories in
his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP. One of the hottest drivers on the circuit
is Edwards, the defending winner who has claimed three No. 1 qualifying
positions this season in his very quick ART Pontiac GXP. Vegas winner,
defending champ and current points leader Jeg Coughlin, who won this
race in 2000, also seems to be hitting his stride in his JEGS.com Chevy
Cobalt. Other past Pro Stock winners here that are included in the
favorites this weekend include Allen Johnson, Kurt Johnson and Larry
Morgan.

While Hines is the defending winner in Pro Stock Motorcycle, the two
winners so far this season are a couple of veterans - Hector Arana and
Craig Treble. Points leader Matt Smith has been fast on his Schumacher
Racing-owned Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Suzuki and currently leads the
point standings, but hasn't came through with a victory yet. He'll be
battling the others, along with rookie Douglas Horne, two-wheel showman
Steve Johnson and defending world champ Eddie Krawiec for the Atlanta
win.

SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for 3 and 5:30 p.m. on
Friday, April 17, and 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Final
eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 19.

TICKETS: Tickets are available for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA
Southern Nationals by calling NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA (6472) or via
ticketmaster.com.

ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will televise two hours of qualifying
highlights at 6 p.m. (ET) on Saturday April 18. NHRA Race Day, a
30-minute pre-race show, will air at 11 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, April 19
also on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD will feature three hours
of eliminations coverage at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, April 19.

LUCAS OIL SERIES: The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
also will feature competition in five categories in the NHRA Lucas Oil
Series, where the future stars of the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn
their racing stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 9 a.m. on
April 16. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin at 8 a.m. on April 17.